


Summer

by chadleymacguff



Series: Something You Misplaced [4]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Developing Relationship, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-04
Updated: 2012-11-04
Packaged: 2017-11-17 17:13:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/553950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chadleymacguff/pseuds/chadleymacguff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sure, he still couldn’t remember what had happened or how he even ended up out there in the woods, but he was thinking it was best if he didn’t remember. From what he could tell, nothing good would come from knowing the truth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Summer

**Author's Note:**

> WOW. I feel so bad that it's taken me so long to pull this chapter together but I'm hoping that it's worth it. I think it's better for me to take my time and write something good that to give you guys crap. Hope you enjoy! It was a labor of love.

It’d been about three or so weeks since the incident in the woods and Peter was starting to feel a little bit better about himself. Sure, he still couldn’t remember what’d happened or how he even ended up out there, but he was thinking it was best if he didn’t remember. From what he could tell, nothing good would come from knowing the truth.

Chris was had already left for his grandparents and hadn’t even bothered to say anything, as usual. He had to find out second hand from over hearing his friends talking in the grocery store. He had to hear from those smug jerks that Chris chose over him that he’d be away all summer and out of reach. Peter wasn’t expecting much but he was hoping for at least some kind of explanation for everything that had happened over the past year. There had to be some reason for all the weirdness that’d occurred between the two of them.

Peter didn’t care. As far as he was concerned Chris could save his excuses for someone else. He had new friends and a new girlfriend. Chris didn’t need Peter and Peter didn’t need him. He was fine on his own. It worked out better that way. At least now he didn’t have to feel like he was withholding information not telling him his secret. It was starting to eat away at him, keeping that kind of secret from his best friend. But upon reflection it didn’t seem that Chris felt the same way. He didn’t care either way or at least that what he tried to tell himself.

He’d found something to occupy his time during the summer. Well, his father found something for him to do over the summer. Peter’s family had had enough of him lounging around the house and he was at that ripe age where he needed to provide his own spending money. How else was he going to afford gas for his new used car he’d gotten for passing his driving test?

His father found him a job down at one of the sporting goods stores. He had a friend that owned the place so the job was as good as his. Only thing he had to do was interview as a formality. After a nerve racking fifteen minutes, he shook Peter’s hand and told him he’d start on Monday and train with his lead associate Janice.

Janice sounded like she was going to be in her late thirties from the way he described her: young, active, hardworking, dedicated. They all sounded like terms you’d name off about your best employee that’d been around for years and was inches away from being promoted. So of course that was what he had in mind coming in on Monday. To his surprise he couldn’t have been more wrong.

Janice was almost the exact opposite. She was young, athletic, toned and was just a bit tanner than he was. Peter was a little dumb struck. He found himself fumbling over words during introductions, with her just smiling and spouting off pleasantries until the boss finally trotted off on his merry way.

“Okay. The watchman is gone, so you can stop acting all weird and stiff.”

She ran a few fingers through her hair. Trying to comb out whatever kinks had formed between when she’d gotten ready that morning and now.

“Oh. I wasn’t—“

“That’s great.” She said cutting him off.

Peter could tell already that she was going to be a lot to deal with. To think he had all summer to look forward to working with her. The first couple of hours were relatively quiet; the two of them only speaking to one another when Peter had a question about what to do or where something was located. It wasn’t all that hard for Peter. The job was pretty straight forward, just stocking and straightening up the products around the store. He didn’t even have to learn how to use the cash register, that seemed to be Janice’s sole responsibility, even though he could do it if need be. There wasn’t much to it since the computer did a majority of the work for you.

Somewhere around lunch Janice came to find him.

“Hey, you wanna break for lunch?”

Peter looked around the store but there were no customers around. He was sitting on top of a box of shin guards straightening the display where the soccer gear was going.

“Sure, I guess. Do we both just go at the same time? Who’s going to watch the store?”

Janice glanced down at her watch, tucking a few loose strands of hair behind her ear.

“Oh, right. Today’s your first day. We usually just take lunch and Steve from the back watches the floor until we come back. He’s the inventory stock guy. I don’t know what he does exactly, I don’t really care.”

Peter tossed the packages back into the box and followed her back into the break room. Janice walked up to the metallic box with a clock on the front. To the left was a wall mounted place for all of the time cards. Peter had clocked in when he started his shift but couldn’t remember how the thing worked. If he had to be honest he was half listening, it was really early when he got there and everything sounded like a dull roar.

“Do you know how to use the time clock?”

Peter shrugged shaking his head back and forth. He saw her roll her eyes and let out a sigh.

“So you just line up your time card and put it in. The clock recognized there’s a card in there and automatically stamps it like this.”

Janice slipped the card into the slot and a mechanic stamper snapped down onto the manila colored cardstock in her hand.

“Easy as that. Now hurry up, we only get forty-five minutes.”

She grabbed her purse from the coat rack and headed for the door. Peter stamped his card and put it back on the wall with the others, running after her to catch up.

Peter wasn’t sure if he liked Janice or not. She was a little bossy for his liking but there was something about her that he found intriguing. He wasn’t blind, he could appreciate her exterior features like any other boy could but that didn’t interest him. Janice had this way about her that was just like a magnet to him.

They walked up a few blocks to a local deli and ordered a few sandwiches that they took over to the park to eat. Janice picked off some of the toppings that she ordered and tore off indentions in the bread. Peter was curious as to why she would do that when she could have just ordered it the particular way she wanted. He just shrugged it off as one of her little quirks.

“So what’s your deal anyway?”

“What do you mean? Like where do I go to school or what’s my life story?”

“D. All of the above.” She said chucking the half eaten sandwich into the brown paper bag it’d come in.

Janice reclined onto the back of the bench, crossing her legs to reach into her purse. She rummaged around for a minute before pulling a cigarette out of a carton labeled Marlboro. She pressed the thin stick between her lips, lighting and taking a long drag.

“Oh, sorry. Did you want one?”

Peter shook his head and took another bite from his sandwich, washing it down with the soda he’d gotten from the shop.

“You didn’t strike he was the smoking type.”

She blew out a few rings of smoke, letting them dance rhythmically until they evaporated out of sight. The smell was pungent and arid. Something his keen sense of smell should have picked up on when they first met. It had to have been masked by the perfume that she was wearing. The smell was thick enough to overshadow the smoke but not enough to overpower her natural body chemistry. That must have been something she’d taken into account when she bought it, because it matched her scent beautifully.

It wasn’t until Peter had finished eating that he noticed that he still hadn’t answered her question.

“Oh I’m going to be a junior over at BHHS. I play on the basketball team and my dad made me get this job.”

She blew a cloud of smoke in his general direction, stomping out the butt on the cement with the heel of her shoe.

“I could’ve guessed about the job. No one really wants to work there.” She said gesturing back towards the store.

“What about you?”

“What’s to know?”

She reached a hand back into her purse to pull out a stick of gum. She gestured the pack to Peter offering him a piece. He raised his hand to decline. Peter caught a glimpse of her roll her eyes again out of his peripheral.

Janice let out an audible sigh.

“I go to Eastlake on the other side of town. I run varsity track and hopefully this is my last year before I’ll be out of this town.”

“Oh. I guess I just assumed you were older, the way that Mr. Kneel talks about you.”

Janice stood up and stretched her arms to the sky, leaning from side to side. Her shirt tugged a little exposing her midriff. Peter couldn’t help but noticed. Janice must have noticed him noticing because she was chuckling under her breath. Peter felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment.

“I just turned eighteen last week. I’ve worked with Kneel for two years I think. There’s been tons of other people that work at the store but I’m the only one stupid enough to stay. It’s cool though. I need the money anyway. I’m saving up so when I go off to college I don’t have to come back here for any reason.”

Peter had to admire her initiative. He could never do something like that even if he wanted to. His family lived here and they’d never leave. This was their home. Even with the bad memories he had attached to the place, Peter could never bring himself to leave. There was just too much history.

“We should probably head on back now. I’m sure Scott wants to go home now.”

“I thought his name was Steve?”

“Who cares?” She shrugged.

\--

Peter’s life had become relatively boring. He’d get up, take a shower, get dressed and drive down to the supply shop where he’d work until closing. He was starting to feel like his summers were about the same as the rest of the year, only with the added bonus of getting paid. That made the amount of time he had to spend stocking protective pads and track shoes worth it.

Spending as much time as he did with Janice they were bound to become friends. The two of them would toss whiffle balls back and forth in the store, set up soccer goals and kick the ball around when there weren’t any customers, at some point they’d even convinced their boss to let them get a little tv so that they could watch movies when things got really slow.

Peter was watching Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and flicking cards into a helmet when she suggested the idea.

“Let’s go to the beach this weekend.”

Peter turned his head with a raised brow. “What?”

“The beach. You know that place with the sand and the water.”

Peter gulped down the rest of his soda and chucked it in the trashcan next to where Janice was standing.

“I understand what a beach is. What I meant was, I thought you were saving up all of your money for when you went off to college.”

She shrugged and pulled herself onto the counter next to him.

“I was or am rather. But I just thought, Hey you should probably have a little fun with what little summer we have left. There’s, what, two weeks left before I leave and you have to go back to school? We should do something exciting.”

Peter felt her nudge his shoulder. He wasn’t sure about the whole thing. He’d been to the beach a few times before with his family but he wasn’t entirely sold on the idea. That’s when he thought about all the fun that Chris might be having while he’s sitting around doing nothing.

“What the hell, let’s go.”

Janice clapped her hands together in excitement. The devilish look in her eye gave Peter a few reservations about the commitment he just got himself into.

Much to his surprise they had a really great time. They drove about two hours away to the nearest beach which happened to be rather deserted for the time of year. The two of them spent the whole day sun bathing, swimming and building sand castles that kept getting swept away. When the sun went down Janice suggested they build a fire, the two of them making s’mores and talking about plans for the future before heading back to Beacon Hills.

On the ride home, Janice kept talk about how much fun the beach was and hanging out with Peter. At some point he thought that she might be coming onto him but he quickly found out that was not the case. Janice was a master manipulator; her whole spiel about the beach was just a setup to convince him to go camping to following weekend. Of course he couldn’t say no. Why would he? It was perfect timing. He needed an excuse to be out of the house. He brother was moving out for college and he really needed any excuse possible to not have to help him move his stuff.

There might have been another reason that he didn’t want to admit to himself. A few days before he and Janice went on their trip to the beach he ran into Chris’ little sister Kate at the grocery store. Peter couldn’t help but wonder why he always ran into the Argents at the grocery store. It made him want to stop going there all together. After making small talk with Kate for about five minutes, she told Peter that Chris would be coming back in town the following weekend. There was no way he was going to let Chris see him working or worse bump into him and his new friends somewhere in town. No, it was better that he do something fun and constructive with Janine. Camping was a great idea. Outdoors and fresh air, plus he could take a run if he wanted to. It was a win, win situation.

Janice’s idea of camping didn’t take them far. They ended up just on the other side of the backwoods in Beacon Hills. Somewhere he was very familiar with. That wasn’t something he was going to bring up unprovoked. Peter didn’t want to have to explain why he knew it so well. That was part of a longer conversation he wasn’t sure he was ready to have.

Janice poked a stick into the fire nudging the wood into place.

“I love a good fire. The smell. That warm toasty feeling you get on the inside.” She rubbed her hands together and held them up to the flames.

“You’re not one of those people that are weirdly into fire are you?”

Janice shrugged an innocently, the glow of the flames dancing across her face to reveal a smile. Peter laughed and shoved a marshmallow onto a stick to toast to a golden brown. The two sat in silence. Janice pulled out a fresh pack of cigarettes and popped one in her mouth. Peter wrinkled his nose to the smell. The smoke bothered his senses, even in the fresh air of the forest.

She noticed his irritation and blew a puff of smoke his direction.

“Uck! Don’t do that!” He blurted out, swatting at the cloud.

Janice’s shoulders bounced with a chuckle.

“So what’s your story anyway?” She pulled the white stick back to her lips to suck in a long drag.

“What do you mean?” Peter turned his back to her to rummage in his bag. He was looking for some kind of distraction to keep him from answering the question directly.

Janice flicked the butt into the fire, wiping her hands onto her jeans.

“Well, usually kids your age have a bunch of friends they spend the summer with but you, you seem to almost friendless. Or like you’re avoiding them for some reason. What’s up with that?”

Peter knew that Janice was a straight shooter. She’d know if he was giving a reserved response, holding back some details so that she wouldn’t judge him. It didn’t matter if he told her the full story anyway. Peter knew that he wouldn’t see her after weekend, so what harm would it be to tell her everything. So he did, he told Janice everything. About how his best friend Chris was the only person he spent time with, how they went to summer camp together, how Chris had kissed him in the supply shed and in the woods, how he’d been avoiding him and now he was dating a cheerleader at their school. Peter practically told her everything except that he was a werewolf. That wasn’t something Janice needed to know. Chris didn’t even know that about him.

“This Chris guy sounds like a dick.” She replied, chucking another piece of wood into the roaring embers.

“He’s not…Chris is…complicated.”

“To say the least.” Janice sparked another cigarette and blew the smoke in Peter’s face.

“Look. You don’t need to worry yourself with some guy like that. People that come with that kind of drama are rarely worth it in the long run.”

She took another drag, speaking through the smoke as she exhaled.

“Trust me. As soon as you let him go, someone else will come along. They always do.”

Peter watched Janice inhale and breathe out, eyes fixed on the flames in front of them. There was a mystic look in her eyes as if she was recounting from personal experience.

“You seem…offly knowledgeable about this. Has this—“

“Finally! Thanks for finally asking. Yes.” Janice blurted.

Peter should have known that she was going to relate this to a prior experience of her own. He barely had time to think to himself before she was telling him all about a guy that she was dating for most of high school.

“Everything was a secret with that guy. We couldn’t be seen together, we’d always meet in secret place or under the bleachers or behind some building of something so that we could be together. Finally I’d had enough with all the sneaking around. It was exhausting. We spent more time sneaking around together then we ever did together.”

“Janice I…”

“Oh don’t even feel bad for me. We…we had some good times together. But the good never outweighed the bad.”

She pulled out a picture from her bag. It was worn at the edges. Like she carried it around with her where ever she went. She handed it to Peter to look at. It was a film strip of the two of them together. Peter could see how happy they were, Janice gleaming from ear to ear, the sandy haired boy in the photograph kissing her cheek. He passed it back to her.

“You two look happy.”

“We were.” She looked at it fondly before tossing the picture into the fire.

“What are you—“

“He’s part of my past. I’ll always remember him but he’s not worth more of my time. Sometimes the ones closest to you can be holding you back the most. Remember that Pete.”

Peter always hated abbreviations of his name but he found himself not minding as much when Janice did it. He thought about her words for a few minutes before Janice stood up and started walking towards the woods.

“Where are you going?” Peter asked starting to standing.

“Call of the wild Pete.” She winked back at him. “I’ll be right back.”

He sat back down. He didn’t need any further explanation. Peter dug the heels of his boots into the dirt, watching the fire dance around in the gentle breeze that circled around the trees. He opened his ears to listen to the sounds of the forest. Peter could hear the tiny animals scurrying around the ground looking for food, the deer trotting through the labyrinth of fallen branches; he could even hear Janice stumbling to get back up after falling over squatting and the string of profanity that followed. When she returned he was still laughing to himself.

“What are you laughing at?” She asked agitated. Janice was praying that he didn’t hear her.

“Nothing. Just thinking about stuff. I’m going to sleep. I wanna be fresh for work tomorrow.”

Peter could see Janice roll her eyes before pulling out her sleeping bag.

“You’re such a wet blanket Peter.”

“At least I didn’t fall over while taking a piss in the woods.” He snapped back with a smile.

\--

Peter’s last day of work flew by in no time. At the end of his shift, he punched his time card as usual and put it into the slot on the wall. He looked at the card next to his with the name Janice written in cursive. Peter could feel a warm spot in his chest and a smile pull over his face. Janice hadn’t come in that day. She had to hit the road for college. Peter was certain that he probably wouldn’t see her again and he was okay with that.

“Some people just come into your life at the right moment.” He murmured to himself, running his fingers over the letters of her name.

Peter walked out the front door passing his boss, giving him a smile and a wave for the opportunity. He hopped onto his bike and rode through the town. It was one of those days that he decided to save gas and ride to work. It was such a nice day and everything looked brighter.

He took in the sights, looking at all the shops and landmarks. Peter couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief. He was finally ready to let all of the Chris drama go and move forward in his life. Tomorrow was going to be the first day of junior year and a fresh start for him. He was going to be the star of the basketball team and over achieve scholastically so that he could get into a good school like his brother.

Peter pulled into his driveway, passing a car he wasn’t familiar with. He didn’t think much of it, he just assumed that it was a relative come to town for a visit. Peter’s family had been dropping in randomly all summer so it wasn’t out of the ordinary. It wasn’t until he got to the front steps that he figured out how’s car it was.

“Hey Petey. Can we talk?”

\--

Peter stood at the foot of the stairs leading to his front door staring at the shaggy haired blonde boy. He couldn’t believe his eyes. It wasn’t much of a surprise for him that Chris would do something like this. It was starting to become a regular thing with him, showing up as soon as Peter stopped thinking about him.

“What are you doing here?” He was still dumbfounded by his reappearance.

“I just got back in town…”

“That’s not what I asked you. What do you want Chris?” Peter snapped.

Chris jumped. He could hear the irritation in Peter’s voice.

“Wow, you must really hate me huh?”

Peter dropped his gaze to his feet and walked his bike past the stairs to the side of his house. He nodded his head for Chris to follow him. Peter leaned the bike against the brick and let out a sigh.

“I don’t hate you Chris. I—“

Before he could finish his sentence Chris was grabbing his face and pressing their lips together. Peter was caught off guard but didn’t resist, he simply melted into the sensation, kissing him back. He quickly regained his senses and pushed him away.

“What are you doing?!” Peter’s voice was pensive. He could feel the animal side trying to take over.

Chris wiped his mouth embarrassed. “I-I’m sorry. I’ve just wanted to do that all summer.”

Peter unclenched his fist that began puncturing miniature fleapits into his hand. He could hear the sincerity in his voice. It was something Peter had learned to filter out, those subtle changes in tone of voice and up ticks in heartbeats that told him if someone was lying or not.

“My grandpa died.” Chris admitted.

Peter knew how he felt immediately. He knew how close Chris was with his family, they were just as close as he was with his. It was something they always had in common. Peter took a few steps closer and wrapped his arms around him. Chris instinctively reciprocated the arm placement, burrowing his head into the crook of Peter’s neck. Peter could feel Chris’ soft sighs into his skin, the two of them sharing an embrace.

Peter was the first to pull back.

“I can’t do this.” Peter stammered abruptly.

Chris brought the sleeve of his shirt up to his face to wipe away the tears that were starting welt in his eyes. He didn’t say anything. He simply nodded and turned back towards the driveway.

Peter knew in his heart that it was for the best but there was something that also felt wrong about what he was doing.

Chris was at his car door fumbling with his keys when Peter appeared behind him, startling the unsuspecting boy. He swirled Chris around to take his face into his hands. Chris entranced by the passion, wrapped his arms around the taller boy, slipping his hand onto the small of Peter’s back to pull him closer.

“What—“

Peter pressed a finger to his lips, shushing the boy.

“Don’t.” He said looking into Chris’ eyes. “I just want this one moment.”

**Author's Note:**

> I was considering leaving the last segment out but idk now, I think it fits. Still got a ways to go in this story so don't think that this is the end for these boys.


End file.
